SGJR8860’s BodyBlog

Didn’t I say before that I was a miserable blogger? Well, here’s the proof! It’s been about a year between now and my last posting. Where do I even begin to outline everything that’s gone on since then? Well, let’s just hit the most important things.  I stopped working out consistently, for one thing. I’ve ballooned back up to about 355 lbs., for another, and the ‘news’ just keeps getting better, since now I’m taking medication for bulging disks in my lower back! YAAAAY! Haven’t had this much fun in YEARS!

But seriously, I thought I would’ve been a lot further along at this point, and it seems like I’ve slid back beyond the "starting at Square One" point. But I also now have a plan that’s taking shape a little more each day, to combat this weight and to start to take it off the proper way, so I can KEEP it off. My latest push towards my goal is to document every aspect of my journey and ‘broadcast’ it both on YouTube and on Facebook, so that anyone else struggling out there and on the verge of giving up can know one very important thing: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. So many times, it feels like we’re the only ones out here wrestling with pain, injuries, sacrifice, frustration, guilt…even when we have a great support system in place.  This series aims to show people that this is not true - that it’s possible to find support if you don’t have it (or never did), or that you should never take the support you have for granted.

This life-changing experience begins for me with the first "webisode" in August of this year. I hope that everyone will ‘tune in’ for it. It’s going to be a ride like you’ve never seen before! And certainly like nothing I’ve ever done in my life!

Well, anyone who knows me also knows that I am a MISERABLE blogger. A lot of people can’t get by without blogging about twice a day; if I do it once a week that’s a miracle! I’ve still been keeping up with the pool training and with my Wednesday ass-kicking sessions with Scott (the trainer in my YouTube clips, for those just catching up). But there are some major changes in the works.

For one: my partner and I are in the process of packing for a big move in about two weeks to another part of town. The other change brought on by the move is that as of Monday, I will no longer be a Gold’s member. (No pun intended there.) Our new place is only minutes by bus from one of the best facilities I have been to in a LONG time - and a Sport and Health Club, no less! I was a longtime member with their chain years ago, but towards the end of a three-year membership, the decline in customer service and upkeep of the gym left me pretty cold. I don’t think this new facility will have that problem…plus it’s been a long, LONG while since I’ve seen a gym that has an actual working steam room. AND a sauna. AND a jacuzzi. AND a lap pool! AND…well, there’s just too many "ands" to list here. Combine that with the discount I get by joining through my office’s health plan, and it’s a no-brainer.

Speaking of health, the onset of one of those "seasonal transition" bugs has stopped my training dead in its tracks this weekend. Doing lots of fluids and vitamin C to beat it back, so we’ll see if that helps. (That and some Tylenol cold meds.) Hopefully I can get back to the pool before our big move…since that will be ANOTHER weekend where I won’t have the time, but I’ll still get a workout in…lifting lots of boxes, that is.

Since Scott is a Gold’s trainer, what that means for our ongoing arrangement is that he’ll have to train me privately. No worries there! Whether or not this will mean more training clips, we’ll see. Meanwhile, my weight is still going to fluctuate like crazy dealing with this cold, but I will need to re-focus on some serious workout and meal planning after this, if I expect to be in the mid-to-upper 200’s by this time next year.

I guess you could say that just like ole Nate, I "been gone too long." There HAS been a lot going on, though. I’ve got a move to get ready for in less than three weeks, plus I’m working a special event for the Association the first weekend in September. Did I mention that one of my heroes, Bob Harper from THE BIGGEST LOSER is going to be there??? I don’t have tickets for any of the post-exhibit concerts coming up with people like Chicago, Chaka Khan and Natalie Cole, and I don’t even care! Just let me get a few minutes with Bob, and that’ll do me for the whole week!!!

Training-wise, still doing the pool just about every morning. There’s a lap pool at the new gym close to where the new address is. It’s great, but it won’t be the same. But I’ll manage. And Scott’s been in Aruba for the past couple of weeks chillin’ (the lucky S.O.B.! But he deserves it…) I don’t know if we’ll get a chance to do anymore training clips this coming week, but we’ll see.

I also started doing what I call "19 Up/19 Down." Since we’ve been concentrating on workouts that emphasize cardio and endurance as much as resistance training, I started actually using MY BUILDING as a training tool. There’s nineteen floors in our high rise, and after living here for almost eight years, NOW I get the ‘wild hair’ to start using the staircase to train on. No, I’m not RUNNING up all nineteen flights of stairs, but I can usually get up to the top and then back down in less than half an hour. Now I’m working on making it harder by adding push-ups and ab crunches on the down slope, doing them on every even-numbered floor. It is quite the workout! I’m just sorry I only have a few more weeks left to take advantage of it. After that, I’ll have to replace it with something else. Well, the new gym does also have a running track…

I’m back off the Hydroxycut again, this time for keeps. It was just doing too many things I didn’t like with my body and the way I felt, so no more "fat burners", please. It’s better just to concentrate on getting the five to six meals a day in, and to get back to the basics re: what those meals are.

I still want to hit that 240 goal before my 50th you-know-what in 2010. And I just knocked down the 48th. TIME’S A-WASTIN’!!!

Well, it’s the start of another week. I’m going to try and put recent events behind me (see my last post) and just move forward with the training. I’m back on the Hydroxycut Hardcore, and although I haven’t noticed any severe reactions, I will definitely have to get a lot better about the meals and keeping hydrated. I’m going to step up to getting back on the stick with the training, too, in spite of still going to the pool and my sessions with Scott on Wednesdays (got another one coming up this week, and we’re supposed to be taping parts of it!)

I really miss how I felt right after the Leanness Lifestyle Boot Camp, when I was really at the lower end of my weight (around 305-307). My short-term goal for the next 30 days is not to return to that weight, but to surpass it…Hopefully, the things I’m doing with my supplementation, plus adding more resistance training back into the mix will get me there…

I really wish I had something more positive to post, since I haven’t been here in a while. But I needed to put this up as a "caveat" to those who have not yet experienced something like this. Learn from my mistakes and DON’T FLY AIRTRAN…
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My 30th Year High School Reunion…I planned for this about three months in advance, booked my flight, got my room reservations, I was all set. And that was even with a few mixed feelings about how it would be, seeing people I hadn’t had contact with for the most part since 1978. So it was going to prove to be an interesting weekend to say the least. I left bright and early at 5:30 this morning to make sure to allow for plenty of time to make my flight.

FADE TO: 9:17 p.m., sitting at home and posting this message. Somewhere in Florida, my former classmates are lounging by the pool, reconnecting and sipping cocktails, while I am still at home. How is this possible? Here’s my letter to my airline of choice - unfortunately for me. I’m sure everyone has a recent horror story like this one, but if you don’t, be sure you knock on wood once you’ve read this. You are VERY fortunate.

I would like to congratulate you for reaching a milestone this morning. I have had many experiences with airlines before, some bad, some good, some only so-so. But on this date, July 25th, 2008, Airtran has managed to allow me to experience The Single Worst Customer Service Event of my life. And that’s saying something.

It was bad enough that I had to cab from my home in Arlington at 5:30 a.m. to Union Station, so I could catch one of the first MARC trains to the BWI station, take the shuttle and then arrive at BWI Airport to check in with Airtran. I made it in at 6:45 for my flight scheduled at 8:50 - plenty of time, I thought, to make it into the 45-minute time window according to your rules, before my flight "closed."

Obviously, you don’t play by your own rules. I would say that when I arrived at the ticket counters, there was anywhere from 200-300 customers in line, easily. And how many agents did you have manning the counter, which had spots for at least six agents? THREE. Half the number for all of those people, most of whom met the same fate I did when their flights "closed" before they were able to check in.

I was informed tersely by one of your agents, that the best they could do was put me on a stand-by list for another flight that wouldn’t leave until THREE THIRTY in the afternoon, and even then there was no guarantee of a seat. THAT was doubly confirmed later, when I was told that on a plane with confirmed seating for 117 passengers, 121 were already booked.

And then to add insult to injury, after purchasing trip insurance in case of an event like this morning’s, that the insurance only covers cancellations due to bad weather and "technical difficulties." In other words - I am now expected to eat the cost of this trip because of YOUR incompetence at maintaining satisfactory customer service. And I say that because I have no wish whatsoever to obtain a "flight credit" from you. That’s the equivalent of finding a rat hair in your hamburger, then having the restaurant apologize by giving you a coupon book for a dozen more hamburgers. At this point in time, with my weekend ruined, and no chance of making my 30th High School Reunion, nothing less than a full chargeback to my credit card will bring about satisfactory resolution of this matter for me.

Even though I was told when I gave my consent to be placed on the stand-by list that my luggage might arrive at my destination without me, why was I not surprised when, at wit’s end, I went to your baggage claim office to check on my bag to discover that it hadn’t even left the airport? That smacks of intentional deceit - as if you cut your losses regarding the percentage of customers who would be displaced from their flights, and pocketed the proceeds.

I hope your happy with this unscrupulous practice, because even though I am only one person, if enough word-of-mouth gets around, fewer and fewer people will be inclined to avail themselves of your dubious services when they shop around to fulfill their travel needs. And I fully intend to the best of my ability, through blogging, vlogging and telling my friends, family and neighbors, that even if their only alternative method of transport is a horse-and-buggy, that would still be a better deal than using AirTran.

Haven’t posted in a while, so I thought I’d do a post-4th of July catch-up.  The swimming continues, though it’s been more at noontime lately than early in the morning. That will have to change back to normal next week, once the holiday weekend is over. Oh, yeah, and how did I do diet-wise? Not bad. The three-hamburger-four-hot-dog-three-chicken-b
reasts-and-a-shitload-of-carbs-habit has REALLY dwindled down from fourscore and a dozen Independence Days ago. Yesterday I had a taste of this, a little of that and two burgers, and I started to feel like I’d eaten half a Mayflower moving truck. So I stopped. No seconds, no thirds, no having to unbuckle my belt to "make more room." It felt GREAT.

Now I can’t say I did as well on desserts and drinks. I scarfed down quite a few Smirnoff Mojitos and "queer-beers" (aka Smirnoff ICE), and did the warm-apple-pie-ala-mode thing with a vengeance. It was only one helping, but it was one of those Beverly Hillbillies’ "heapin’ helpin’s". (A HUGE pie slice, topped with about two and a half scoops of vanilla ice cream, splashed with Wild Turkey American Honey liqueur!) In other words - my entire freakin’ carb allowance for THE NEXT MONTH.

But as a VIP in my life reminded me to "fail forward," I’m not going to beat myself up for it. Too many important strides were made this week.

This morning, I finally gave myself a swift kick in the ass and started a long-neglected project: ditching the fat clothes. Now I’m not talking about clothes that are just a little too "loose." I’m talking about anything size 3X and above (mostly 4X). The psychological weight of having all that crap still stuffed into my closet is another insidious method of sabotaging my own efforts, because getting healthier is about 99% mind power, isn’t it? Having that stuff around is like keeping the little voice inside your head that sneers: "You better keep those clothes, son, because you KNOW that one day you’re gonna need them again." Sh-yeah, RIGHT. And just like I was telling my partner this morning about that voice, I warned myself that if I DID need those clothes again, I would also need to pick out a shiny new casket for myself, too.

So I’m really glad I got that started, because it will put me in the right frame of mind next week to start working out with my new trainer. Yeah, I hired another one: Scott Blume, who used to be based at the Gold’s closest to the apartment. He transferred to another Gold’s about three train stops down from the one I usually go to, but making the trip to see him was worth it last Wednesday, when I met him for a trial session.

I know that our first go-round was modified by him just to see what I could handle, but what I COULD handle astounded me! We worked on a circuit of machine-free exercises: timed stairstepping, push-ups, leg-lifts, back rows, bicep curls, side-step squats and then about fifteen minutes of moderate to vigorous walking on the treadmill at varied speeds and inclines. The entire workout took just over forty-five minutes, but it felt like I’d gotten twice the work done in half the time! So he sold me. Our first REAL session is next Wednesday, which is probably the only day I won’t be going to the pool. Scott’s promised me that if I can follow his plan to the letter, I can drop at least ten more pounds by Labor Day. I can deal with that!

There’s also been a big change with the supplements, BTW. I broke the cardinal rule of not reading the labels when I bought those ProMax bars, and now I know why half of them taste so damn good: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Nope, it wasn’t the first ingredient, but it’s STILLL in there, and it’s a no-no for successful weight loss. So I’m not giving the remainder away, and I’m certainly not going to throw them out. But when they’re gone, they’re gone for good and as you probably saw already, they’re off my Supplements list. I may replace them with something better, or just stick to protein shakes for now.

I also stopped the cycle of Hydroxycut Hardcore I’d started. I was starting to feel dizzy and woozy during some of the pool and gym workouts, and at first I chalked it up to my diet being way off and not eating enough at the proper times.  But since I stopped taking the capsules right after those first signs, a lot of that has just stopped as well. I don’t know…maybe I’m still too heavy to be on fat-burners of any kind, or maybe the shit is just as bad as a lot of people warn it is, and I’m better off without it - even after I get below the 300 lb. mark. So I think I’ll wait till I get to 295, try the HH again at that point and see what happens. Who knows? I probably won’t need them, nor be interested in taking them at that time.

Oh, and one more thing: since Scott is promising results and we are taking my measurements next Wednesday, I’m going to start posting some weekly progress pics beginning tomorrow night. I have a nice, shiny new digital camera I get to play around with, so I don’t have to haul those crappy CVS One-Shot cameras in anymore to waste money on getting bad film processed. Plus, it will motivate me to keep doing it and keep honest about my progress…or lack of it.

So June 3rd is a distant memory now, and I didn’t hit my original goal of losing 140 lbs. by that date. But I am still light years away from where I used to be, and that does count for something. I have to put the perfectionist within me on blast and constantly remind him that this is a MARATHON, NOT A RACE. Starting the journey was a massive step, and continuing on that journey to whatever rewards lie ahead is what matters, instead of stopping to count all the "bumps in the road" I hit - and the ones I know I probably will going onward (and upward).

EDIT: How the hell could I have forgotten the most IMPORTANT development of late? Woody went to Amazon.com and ordered our first George Foreman, which arrived just in time to use for the 4th. Although I do miss that charcoal taste, the food we cooked on the grill was still pretty good. And that’s aside from the fact that it was a really good investment. Cooking all the chicken and turkey breasts and omelettes now is going to be a walk in the park…

Still managed to get to the pool this morning, in spite of the late bedtime hour last night. Gotta get back to hitting the sack by 10 at least…of course I say that now and here it is, almost twenty after 11! No gym time today - still sore from the hard leg workout last weekend (I did more than I thought I did, I guess), plus I do need to get more REST! Third day in the HH cycle (1 cap/2X - 2 caps/2X starts tomorrow.)

Monday…did the usual 7 A.M. pool thing, as I will tomorrow morning and onward. I’d had plans to add on a 1/2 hour of cardio in the late afternoon, but I had to run into town to get my laptop fixed. Plus after doing the usual chores on top of that, my body said today, "No way, Jose." Impatience equals injury, right? I really want to start seeing this weight start falling again like it did back in November of last year. But I already know what the problem is. DIET. Isn’t it always?

Well, since tomorrow is also the first time I’m adding FBW’s (Full Body Workouts) back into the mix, the extra cardio on the "in-between" days can definitely wait. It also means picking Saturday or Sunday as a "full monty" day and leaving at least one day for rest and repair. Reminder time: dose #2 of HH was today (1 cap/2X) and so far, no noticeable changes. (D-UH, genius! How about waiting till at least the end of Week One, right???)

At some point, I need to take at least one progress pic to post before I get too far into this. Let’s see if this stuff really does make a difference…or not.

I am wiped. I probably should’ve gone to bed an hour ago, since I have to be up for the pool by six tomorrow morning. Today was the leg day part of my "weekend split", and I went heavier than I have since being back in the gym. (It’s only my second week back.) I can already tell this is going to be a challenge, but just seeing what my new "friends" here have all achieved so far, I know it’s going to be worth it. Also: just as a reminder to myself, I started my cycle of Hydroxycut Hardcore today. I’ll need to stick some reminders in, so I can remember when to start increasing the doses per the directions. (1 cap/2x b4 meals today, tomorrow and Tuesday.)

Yep, end of the week, folks, and what can I say? Wednesday I "punked" out and didn’t do the gym thing that same day after all. Yeah, I know…I SUCK. But what’re ya gonna do? When you do half an hour of water aerobics and exercises and try to follow that up with another half hour of laps, sure, you get tired.  But what you’ve done to your body doesn’t really tell on you until you get home and you’ve had an hour or two to kick back. That’s when the after-effects REALLY ’sink in.’ Me, Tylenol and Advil are old buds at this stage, and on the days when I’ve really done myself in, it takes a mega-dose (about four caps of either pain reliever) to be effective. I only take two before bedtime if it’s been a medium day.

So today’s lunchtime workout is my last pool session of the week. I have my split to do at the gym this weekend, then start the whole thing again next week…only things are going to be a little different. I’m adding in one more full body workout day, plus I’m starting the cycle of Hydroxycut Hardcore I picked up from the Store this week. I’m going to have to factor in a shake somewhere to supplement the protein intake as well - I’m going to need all the help I can get! My 30th high school reunion is a month from next Friday, so there’s still time to "kill it" and get myself down below 300 before then. It’s just gonna be work, work, work!